Field Level Media
Jan 11, 2018
Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven scored a career-high 29 points as North Carolina State upset No. 19 Clemson 78-77 on Thursday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., beating a ranked team for the third time this season.
Clemson's Gabe DeVoe made the first two free throws on a three-shot foul with 0.2 seconds left, but the last one bounced off to the side and N.C. State survived.
Yurtseven shot 12-for-18 from the field, including 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, in helping the Wolfpack avenge a loss from last month and putting an end to Clemson's 10-game winning streak.
Allerik Freeman added 14 points for N.C. State (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which conquered then-No. 2 Duke in its previous game.
Marcquise Reed scored 17 points, while Donte Grantham had 16 points, Mark Donnal added 13 points and DeVoe chipped in 12 for Clemson (14-2, 3-1).
The outcome leaves Virginia as the only ACC team without a league loss.
N.C. State also topped a No. 2 team in November when toppling Arizona, then turned around and lost its next two games.
This time, the Wolfpack broke a 50-50 tie with 11 consecutive points. Clemson broke its drought with 8:10 to play with what became a 7-0 spurt before the Wolfpack responded.
But a 73-61 margin was trimmed to 74-71 with 32.8 seconds to play. A turnover gave Clemson the ball, but the Tigers turned it over when Torin Dorn stole the inbounds pass and the Wolfpack held on.
N.C. State called a timeout after DeVoe's first two free throws and then he missed.
Clemson defeated the Wolfpack 78-62 on Dec. 30 at home.
Yurtseven had 15 first-half points, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He had 12 total points in the first meeting with Clemson.
The Tigers committed five turnovers in the first six minutes, aiding N.C. State's strong start that resulted in a 24-15 lead. Yurtseven scored 10 straight for the Wolfpack during one stretch.
Clemson went up 34-33 with 3:23 left in the first half before the Wolfpack recovered for a 41-38 halftime edge.
The Tigers shot 58.3 percent in the first half, but they committed 10 turnovers compared to one giveaway by N.C. State.
Clemson entered the game with a 3-0 mark in ACC play for the first time in 11 years.
--Field Level Media